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RoyalDNS is a Windows backdoor associated with the China-linked cyberespionage group APT15, also tracked as Ke3chang and Vixen Panda. It was observed in 2017 during intrusions against organizations previously targeted by the group, including a compromise affecting a company providing services to the UK Government. RoyalDNS is part of a broader APT15 toolset that has included RoyalCli, BS2005-derived implants, Ketrican variants, and Okrum, and has been used in long-running espionage operations against diplomatic, government, and related strategic targets in Europe and Latin America.
The malware is notable for using DNS as its command-and-control channel, specifically leveraging DNS TXT records to exchange tasking and data. This design supports covert post-compromise access while blending traffic into normal name-resolution activity. Reported RoyalDNS functionality is consistent with a backdoor used for persistent remote access and operator-driven post-exploitation. In the documented intrusions, APT15 relied heavily on interactive command execution and living-off-the-land activity around the deployment of RoyalDNS, including reconnaissance, credential access, lateral movement, and theft of sensitive documents.
RoyalDNS establishes persistence on infected systems by installing itself as a Windows service using the name Nwsapagent. Its use followed earlier APT15 access methods that included spearphishing and, in at least one documented case, re-entry through a corporate VPN using stolen certificate-based access. RoyalDNS has been linked with campaigns targeting diplomatic missions and government-related entities, especially organizations of strategic intelligence value. Its deployment reflects APT15’s longstanding emphasis on stealthy persistence, manual operations, and information theft rather than disruptive effects.
Mallory pivots from this family to the IOCs, detections, and named campaigns that touch your stack, and pages you when something new lands.
1 distinct threat actor attributed by public researchers. Open in Mallory to see the full evidence chain and overlapping campaigns.
APT15 is alive and strong: An analysis of RoyalCli and RoyalDNS.
4 distinct techniques documented for this family, organized by ATT&CK tactic.
“Sandworm Team used an arbitrary system service to load at system boot for persistence for Industroyer… replaced the ImagePath registry value of a Windows service with a new backdoor binary… [multiple groups/malware] creating a service / installing as a service / modifying service configurations for persistence.”
“Sandworm Team used an arbitrary system service to load at system boot for persistence for Industroyer… replaced the ImagePath registry value of a Windows service with a new backdoor binary… [multiple groups/malware] creating a service / installing as a service / modifying service configurations for persistence.”
2 indicators attributed across vendor reports, sandbox runs, and researcher write-ups. Full values are available in Mallory.
IPs, domains, and DNS infrastructure linked to this family.
File hashes (MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256) from samples and reports.
9 sources tracked across advisories, community write-ups, and news. New activity surfaces here as Mallory finds it.
RoyalDNS is a backdoor malware used by APT15, leveraging DNS for command and control communications.
Custom backdoor used by APT15 as part of its malware arsenal for covert access.
Custom APT15 implant/backdoor referenced as part of the group’s historical tooling.
Malware family mentioned only in a cited reference title.
Match every observed IP, domain, and hash against your live telemetry.
Named campaigns wielding this family, with evidence pinned to each claim.
CVEs this family uses for access and lateral movement.
YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.
Every documented technique, ranked by evidence weight.
Reddit, Mastodon, and CTI community discussion around this family.